MUSKEGON – The Madison Capitols are obviously not the type of team to go down quietly.

The fifth-seeded underdogs proved that in their previous playoff series, when they were shut out by first-seed Chicago in Game 2, then rallied from a two-goal deficit to win Game 3 and the series.

So nobody should be surprised that the Capitols rallied from a two-goal deficit on Saturday, forced the game to overtime, then stole a 4-3 win over the Muskegon Lumberjacks at Mercy Health Arena in Game 2 of the USHL Eastern Conference championship series.

The game-winning goal came from Madison’s Jake Dunlap just 1:21 into overtime.

Muskegon’s Qaunn Hutson brings the puck up the ice. Photo/Tonya Pardon

The loss was the first of the playoffs for the Jacks, who had won their first five games, including Friday night’s series opener against Madison.

Giving up the lead was not a playoff-first for the Jacks. They have done that in their last four playoff games, but managed to regroup and win the first three, but their luck ran out on Saturday.

Now the Lumberjacks will have to roll up their sleeves and find a way to win two out of the next three games to take the series and advance to the Clark Cup finals.

Games 3 and 4 will be in Madison on Munday and Tuesday nights. A decisive Game 5, if necessary, would be in Muskegon on Thursday.

Despite the lost lead and disappointing defeat, Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton was definitely not pushing the panic button after the game.

Muskegon’s Phil Tresca races for the puck. Photo/Tonya Pardon

“I think overall we played a pretty good game,” Hamilton said. “I think we got a little bit loose and it turned into a little bit of a track meet in the second period, but overall we played a pretty good game. I thought their goalie made a couple of great saves to keep the game within reach and they capitalized at the end.

“It the end of it you want to go on the road and do the same thing they did here – get a split and bring it back home for a Game 5. It would be great to get two on the road, but in reality, we want to try to at least get a split and come back home.”

The Lumberjacks had an excellent chance to put Madison in a deep hole, and it looked like the game was headed in that direction for a while.

Muskegon’s Jack Williams scored just 18 seconds into the game, giving the hometown team an early burst of momentum.

Madison’s Reid Pabich tied the score with a goal at 3:50 of the first period, then rookie Jake Richard put the Lumberjacks back in the lead with a goal at 19:53, giving Muskegon a 2-1 lead at the first break.

Muskegon’s Jacob Napier moves the puck into the Madison zone. Photo/Tonya Pardon

The Jacks took a 3-1 lead at 3:43 of the second period when defenseman Nathan McBrayer found the net.

But the last three goals went to Madison.

Ben Dexheimer scored at 14:40 of the second period and Muskegon led 3-2 headed into the third. Matthew McGroarty scored the only goal of the third period at the 2:20 mark, then Dunlap scored early in overtime to give the Madison squad new life in the series.

Madison benefitted from many outstanding saves by goalie Simon Latkoczy, who stopped 28 of 31 Muskegon shots, and completely shut the Lumberjacks down for most of the second period and all of the third.

The Jacks had a 31-24 advantage in shots on goal.

“When you play good hockey teams this is going to happen,” Hamilton said. “It’s not going to be easy and you have to work. It’s playoffs. These are the best four teams left so there are no easy outs. Now we’ve got to forget about this one and move on to the next one. We believe in ourselves, and we need to learn from this one.”